Mistrial Declared in Sanity Phase of Dentist’s Trial

A mistrial has been declared in the sanity phase of the murder trial of a dentist after jurors said they were unable to decide whether he was sane at the time of the slaying.

The San Diego Superior Court jury sent out a note Monday to Judge Donald Meloche, saying they were deadlocked after 15 hours of deliberations on the sanity of Dr. Douglas Dustin, 53.

Dustin, who lives in the Los Angeles area, was convicted March 17 by the same jury of first-degree murder in the Sept. 13, 1987, shooting death of Dustin’s estranged wife, Adelheid (Heide) Dustin, 50, near her La Jolla home.

The jurors said six of them voted one way, five another, and one was undecided on the sanity question.

Dustin’s murder conviction will stand, but he will be retried on the sanity phase. Meloche ordered Dustin back to court on April 21 for setting a retrial date.

If he is found insane, he would likely be committed to a mental hospital, possibly for life. But if jurors find he was sane, he would face a state prison term of 26 years-to-life.

Most of the psychiatrists who examined him testified during the sanity phase that they believe he was insane at the time of the shooting.

John Mitchell, Dustin’s attorney, said in court he may ask that he get a new trial on the guilt phase of the trial because the jurors failed to reach a verdict on sanity.

The sanity phase began March 20 and the jury began their deliberations on Thursday afternoon.